Defensive confidence in themselves is all they need, but it is evident that the LA Clippers have heard what the outsiders have to say. Questions about the side effects of their age have been raised, and what followed were doubts about their ability to defend.
Had the Clippers kept the same roster, or at least for the most part, then media outlets would still be ranking their abilities with the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, they made four major changes to both of their units, which Brian Windhorst, Tim MacMahon, and Tim Bontemps debated.
Great points were made all around, yet Windhorst was on an island from the other two in one of the latest episodes of “The Hoop Collective” in believing the Clippers’ defense will suffer next season.
That said, Windhorst will be proven wrong by the Clippers next season, and it will not take long, as the beginning part of their regular season schedule includes several tests for LA to show why their defense is still elite.
Brian Windhorst will quickly be mistaken about the Clippers’ defense next season
The LA Clippers’ defensive scheme would have hit a massive wall if their defenders had been separated from the team this summer through trades or signings. But their defensive anchor, Ivica Zubac, is not going anywhere any time soon, and the perimeter specialists like Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., and Nicolas Batum stayed where they were.
However, on “The Hoop Collective,” Brian Windhorst believes a defensive decline in LA will occur because of age and heavy minutes to John Collins and Bradley Beal.
Tim MacMahon and Tim Bontemps jumped to the Clippers’ defense before Windhorst could even finish his sentence, and they are absolutely correct.
Bontemps argued first that the version of Beal that LA receives is, at worst, the same as that of Norman Powell defensively. MacMahon follows with Collins playing mostly with the bench next to a former All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year finalist, Brook Lopez.
These reasons disprove Windhorst’s logic, and to further show how the ESPN expert will be wrong, the Clippers will also have a premier, multi-time All-Defense level defender on the bench in Chris Paul to help hide what is necessary.
Nonetheless, the Clippers’ early-season contests versus the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder will be the perfect time for them to eliminate all of the doubt held by Windhorst on their defense, and everyone else standing by him.